Bio Statement

Dr. Wai-Kwan Alfred Yung is a Professor of Neuro-Oncology and Cancer Biology, as well as the Margaret and Ben Love Chair of Clinical Cancer Care. He has served as Chair of the Department of Neuro-Oncology since 1999. He is also the director of the Brain Tumor SPORE and co-director of the Brain Tumor Center at MD Anderson. Dr. Yung has extensive experience and expertise in the field of brain tumor research. His research program spans more than two decades and includes basic, translational, and clinical research. Along with 28 years of continuous funding by NCI, his work has also been funded by foundations and industry grants. The overall objective of his research program is to develop new therapeutic approaches to block the regulatory mechanisms of brain cancer cells. His primary research interest focuses on development of molecular therapeutic strategies targeting the EGFR and PTEN/PI3 kinase pathways and their parallel regulatory mechanisms that are crucial to human glioma genesis and progression. The translational research effort has included the development of oncolytic adenoviral vectors and pre-clinical studies of many small molecular inhibitors targeting the PTEN/P13K and EGFR pathways. Dr. Yung has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles in many high impact journals covering diverse laboratory and clinical research topics. He serves on the scientific advisory board ofseveral pharmaceutical companies and private foundations. He is the current editor-in-chief of Neuro-Oncology and co-chair of the NCI Brain Malignancy Steering Committee.